Scottsboro City Schools employees targeted by scammers

The district was targeted by a phishing scam that resulted in W-2 information being given out, officials said.

Posted: Mar. 6, 2018 1:48 PM

Updated: Mar. 6, 2018 9:44 PM

Some Scottsboro City Schools employees had their Social Security numbers taken by scammers, who used them to file tax returns, according to the school system.

A letter dated Monday was sent to employees from Superintendent Jose Reyes stating that an email phishing scam had successfully gotten information from the district's payroll department.

The thief posed as the superintendent and asked for W-2 filing information from the payroll department, Reyes said. Several employees received a message while filing their tax returns that said their Social Security numbers had already been used to file a return, according to the letter.

Employees were informed of the tax filing issues last week, Reyes said in the letter. Over the weekend, Reyes said they traced the source of the breach to the phishing scam.

Reyes said the theft was reported to the IRS, FBI, Scottsboro police and the local district attorney's office.

"It's a regrettable situation, but we're providing all the support that we can for our employees in order to help make this right for them," said Reyes.

Employees, including substitute teachers, who had a 2017 W-2 form from the district were encouraged to take steps to protect their identities.